THE INN AT THE END OF A LIFE
The sign at the inn swung like a gallows
the light lay low on the heath.
Old Ben was in his settle
sucking baccy through his teeth.
Puddles formed on the flagstones
where a one - eyed dog stood watch;
underneath a ragged sky
the inn was dark as a crotch,
except for a fire - lit window
that glowed like a winter star,
through which a cluster of faces took in
...Monday 31st December 2018 11:13 pm
LETTER FROM THE STREETS part 2
Of sleeping rough i've had enough
and the pointless error of my ways.
I've seen the light the other night,
a man from the Church was doing research
on how we spend our days.
Now i've turned myself around
like others sometimes do.
Well, after all it's a waste of a life,
so now i'm looking for a wife
to love me for what I might become
instead of just a pathetic bum...
Friday 28th December 2018 10:07 pm
BATTERSEA AT CHRISTMAS
Battersea lay on its back
like an old dog in the sun,
its legs in the air.
A postwar indolence
hung loosely at the kerbs.
Rails gently simmered on their way to homes.
Factory chimneys were idle,
and on this Christmas day
for those still about, dawdling
there was a pint to be had at a corner pub.
An air of honesty led to no false hopes,
no promise of ...
Monday 24th December 2018 11:27 pm
THE SHORTEST DAY
The shortest day rolls away like a brief lament
in a book near its end, and my, how it's flown
in the reading my friend!
Even as we mourn for the light
half blinded while waiting for inky night,
we celebrate with incantation as if
there's fear in the shortness of it, like dying breath
on lips that talk of its passing away.
A celestial hound sniffs amongst leaves
...Friday 21st December 2018 5:11 pm
LETTER FROM THE STREETS
Hi Charlie, hope things are going well for you and the family.
It seems such a long time now.
I had to find a new spot to kip down last week
as there are some dodgy types taking over,.
I thought my luck couldn't last.
Still on the scrounge at the moment,
but the hostels were doing my head in.
Once you get used to the streets
it's like an anaesthetic, plus the odd cider
...
Wednesday 19th December 2018 4:14 pm
CITY LIGHTS
Sing to me of city lights,
of good time girls for lonely nights.
Sing to me of guarded spaces,
of feuds and rights, trading places.
Talk to me of stars above,
the hushed embrace of once tried love
and I will talk to myself in doorways,
sleep the sleep of the undead.
I will hide an outrage tight
like a possession to keep out the cold.
I shall s...
Tuesday 18th December 2018 11:03 pm
RECYCLING
After toddlers are potty trained
we can all breathe a sigh of relief
as the earth turns recycled shit into slurry
packed in plastic
in no great hurry to regurgitate.
Their beautiful little smiling faces
not showing signs of our easy disgraces,
as we bury our faults in earthy vaults
while showing off our progeny,
who soon enough will start to bewail
our cont...
Saturday 15th December 2018 8:17 pm
DARK WANTON
"Take me with you wherever you go," I cried.
She looked at me with star-studded eyes.
"There is no need for that," she replied.
"You have a life of your own to live,
and although you think you love me
I can only hinder you.
The life she held back would never be mine,
nor her shy and gracious face.
The moon with its dark side explained it all
with its finge...
Tuesday 11th December 2018 10:18 pm
ALLHALLOWS ON SEA
You can keep your Monte Carlo
your islands of celebrity.
Give me Haven Holidays
a blissful week at Allhallows on Sea.
You can keep your crab and langoustines
by candlelight in harbour bars.
Give me whelks, cockles,
a plate of mussels,
chips and a bowl of Haagen Daas.
You can keep your romantic settings,
tropical playgrounds under palms.
Give me a mist on ...
Friday 7th December 2018 10:44 pm
AUBURN HAIR
Close by the summer spire of St.Barnabus
Flossie Sheridan waits for a trolleybus
statuesque with her mane of auburn hair
knowing all there is to know
from flowing crown to tippy toe
in her school blue and grey looking neat.
Here comes the red and gliding bus
with a hiss and a spark past Clissold Park,
the conductor bright buttoned
swings out to welcome her aboard.
...Tuesday 4th December 2018 2:20 pm
MAGIC MOMENTS
A record slides from within its sleeve
palm supported to the deck;
the needle descends,
he takes his place
to where she curls up with that special face.
While reaching down to pull him off
he stays her hand for Rachmaninov,
a musical climax steadily building,
his spirit soaring.
Something about his isolation worries her
as he closes his eyes;
she sulks a...
Wednesday 28th November 2018 9:08 pm
THE INCINERATOR, ON A LATE NOVEMBER DAY
It was hiding itself amongst wet flannel leaves
given up by the ghost of the earlier year - a challenge I was willing to take,
the incinerator
like a dustbin with holes.
Last week I had burned free offers
lurid lies and half promises
all crated in with a stick
despatched with a match or two.
Now it was different.
Old skeletons of cuttings stuck straight up
hard p...
Friday 23rd November 2018 10:16 pm
LAVENDER FIELDS FOREVER
There are fields of lavender in England
gathered into bottles, bags, pillows
to inspire with calmness.
Japanese come with cameraphones
to record the novelty -
news for a small island.
"There, there! they say in Japanese
and worship colour in nature.
They have Mount Fuji, bullet trains
and problems of their own
to do with factories and yields.
Lavende...
Tuesday 20th November 2018 9:49 pm
IN NORWAY 1976
As I ascended the hill
the air became ever more still
until it hung crystal as a chandelier,
pine forests leaning dark
against a clear stunning sky of biting cold.
and when I reached the lake
it was glass as sure as a dream,
as deep as its needs required,
a secret hid from man in his selfish trance.
and I thought looking back to hear no sound
there was the w...
Monday 19th November 2018 2:39 pm
A SOLDIER THAT CAME HOME
Spare a thought as he comes amongst you
prepared to burst like a boil of hate
on the line he crossed many times
between sanity and that other place
he had to face,
to live his life in the shadow of death revived
knowing the price he has paid
for being witness to exploded breath
spare a thought for him
the one who came out of the storm of fire
remember him
.
visi...
Friday 16th November 2018 9:58 pm
THE ASSEMBLY OF MEN
And the great and good of every country held an assembly
never the like of which had been seen before:
Consorts, despots, legitimately voted leaders,
church representatives, tribal gurus,
shamans, every nut and bolt of power gathered there
on a beacon lit hilltop, with no security presence
at a propitious time in the calendar decided upon by wise men
in their small u...
Monday 12th November 2018 8:30 pm
REMEMBERING
When the sunrise loses hope
birds stop singing,
an aura gathers around the rim
then there's too much remembering
looking back for answers
which never come,
only questions that hang in the air
then sink down with secrets
in the blood red setting sun.
Saturday 10th November 2018 10:03 pm
STANNAH STAIRLIFT
Take the Stannah Stairlift to Paradise,
now wouldn't that be nice,
fitting included in the price.
Sitting there with slippers on
watching the downstairs rooms receding,
a quiet hum as the clouds drift by.
Stoked up on medicated bliss
life could never be better than this.
As the landing hoves into view
wallpaper looking down at you
to meet and greet the carpe...
Thursday 8th November 2018 10:37 pm
SUICIDE STREET
The drop in centres were dropped,
post offices closed,
banks blanked off,
supermarkets fully automated,
high street stores awaiting budget announcements,
benefits savagely cut,
surgeries under threat,
local bus routes severed.
The community relief specialist paused
near a gap in static traffic
to check a crumpled heap,
spotted a note wh...
Tuesday 6th November 2018 3:43 pm
DREAMS AND LIES
I thought the entering knife was bad
until I saw a bullet wound,
photographed in black and white
as when a life is ripped apart.
In the darkness of emotion
held securely in case of threat,
lies the answer to man's endeavour
for war to drive the body apart.
Such is the game that pulls men in
with all the weight of industry behind,
all its trickery and enterpr...
Sunday 4th November 2018 4:36 pm
THE HOUSE OF USHER
The House of Usher is up for sale
with a casket of secrets
and a built in tale.
Family histories tainted, unclean
bursting to be told
by those unseen.
The House of Usher increased in price
when it turned its back on Paradise,
with skeletons in cupboards
and other artefacts,
like unspeakable things in sacks.
The trees in the garden, weighed down in sorrow
...Wednesday 31st October 2018 11:49 pm
THE HOLY GHOST
Amongst those I admire most
must surely be the Holy Ghost.
Indefinable, unfathomable,
a lesson to us all
in how to remain invisible
yet unfailingly enthrall.
With a presence compulsory
though indescribable to most.
Yes, amongst the Ones I much admire
must be the holy Ghost.
Something you will never meet
except on a lost horizon;
nevertheless its place ...
Tuesday 30th October 2018 10:10 pm
HUNTER'S MOON
relish your dark woundings,
prime your pellets,
Check your powders,
For soon comes the hunter's moon.
polish your stock,
let your barrel breathe oil,
make slick your cloth's
preparations,
practise footfalls of stealth,
For soon comes the hunter 's moon.
While fen and forest
Sweat and furrow,
While fur frets
In the burrow,
Hold fast your dreams ...
Wednesday 24th October 2018 9:33 pm
CONFLICTING INTERESTS
Isn't nature wonderful, she thinks
holding the tip of her Mont Blanc pen
against the ruby of her lips.
Gregory is in the city as usual;
behind mullioned windows
a weak sun lights up the estuary of the Dee.
Her red setter lies fully stretched
on the killim rug
and suddenly it is time
for the pen to write
describing the turn of the river
almost out of s...
Tuesday 23rd October 2018 10:37 pm
DANSE MACABRE
The Angel of Death was dancing
in a veil of gossamer grey,
close by her side the Grim Reaper pressed
as night faded into day.
He grinned through his hood like a gentleman should
while her wings caught the light of the moon;
like shattered glass in a ravaged dawn
they sparkled then faded away.
Saturday 20th October 2018 10:03 pm
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Benjamin Britten strode out
one crisp spring morning to a crowd of seagulls;
North Sea clouds parted
to let the sun through.
This was his muse, his choir,
a thin gruel of music in his head
preparing for release.
Harps and the voices of boys split infinity
over the shingle.
He worried about the cause,
the great horizon of gestation held tight
in an unaccep...
Thursday 18th October 2018 4:36 pm
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Benjamin Britten strode out
one crisp spring morning to a crowd of seagulls;
North Sea clouds parted
to let the sun through.
This was his muse, his choir,
a thin gruel of music in his head
preparing for release.
Harps and the voices of boys split infinity
over the shingle.
He worried about the cause,
the great horizon of gestation held tight
in an unacc...
Thursday 18th October 2018 4:31 pm
ROYAL DISAPPOINTMENT
I want to feel important,
i'd like to meet the Queen,
even a minor Royal would do
as long as i'd be seen.
The spin - offs could be useful
online and in the pub,
i'd like to get a selfie
with Queenie in the scene.
I was born quite humble
and havn't changed my name
unlike Sir Elton and other knights
I have no claim to fame.
But i'd like to feel im...
Monday 15th October 2018 5:10 pm
CRUCIFIXION
Death for a cause
pain beyond belief
Crucifixion;
A following.
After two thousand years
the old planets roll,
eyes cast up to God
or down with grief,
seeking answers.
All is silence
beyond belief.
Friday 12th October 2018 10:33 pm
YORKSHIRE BREW
Yorkshire stands proud of its men
(not sure about the women).
It's what can get you famous.
Nobbut a lad etcetera
charming the arse off the elite
with mud on't feet.
And as for that painter fella
stained glass window in t'Palace of Westminster
seat a't power,
no problem now they've got rid of the bloody tower.
So! We stand tall, grander than 'em all
and...
Wednesday 10th October 2018 10:44 pm
WHERE I LIVE
Where I live the lanes run this way and that
all confused changing their minds.
On scowling days they run with rain
to remind you which is up and which is down.
Back on myself I go to places I thought I knew
and wonder about: doors replaced under feathered slate
this year's car behind a rickety gate.
A freshly dug bed behind a hedge privacy nevertheless shared.
A...
Tuesday 9th October 2018 9:56 pm
FUNCTION ROOM
There is no poetry in music, not this way:
a room pulsating with dance,
the detritus of meals discarded,
some celebration of sales figures achieved,
the mutual masturbation of praise
for the highlight of successful days.
There is no poetry in noise,
a hell machine driven to death
on the sweat of drunken breath.
No, no poetry for me;
although I play the songs
...Monday 8th October 2018 10:33 pm
FOOD CULTURE
Next to the food bank
a tiny table had been laid outside,
with fine linen, silver cutlery
best china, napkin keenly folded,
a resolute chair of some repute.
The town awaited with baited breath
a celebrity who was due to dine,
to be waited on there.
Soon a butler arrived,
the ceremony commenced.
lavish dishes from a special vehicle
a team of news guys in...
Saturday 6th October 2018 8:46 pm
EPITAPH
Songs my mother taught me at the breast
sweet hauntings while to the nipple pressed
too late for memory's supplication now
though promises made of life a silent vow.
The song of dust and bones is grinding slow,
what the finger writes
we surely cannot know.
Then her sweet lips were pressed
into a grave;
a shovel rang, the music of the spheres
enchanted echoed back
...Wednesday 3rd October 2018 9:59 pm
SIMPLE FARE
Subtlety ? forget it.
Put it in and you'll regret it,
Might as well talk to yourself
in an empty council toilet.
LIke any private moment, wasted,
someone's sure to spoil it.
Most of the readers will miss your point
then move to something safer.
So make your gestures obvious
for easy quick consumption.
Nobody likes to think too hard
without the wit or gumptio...
Monday 1st October 2018 4:46 pm
I WASN'T UPSET
I wasn't upset at the funeral today,
my cup already full of misery.
Death shouldn't be a matter of numbers,
but they were clocking up
in familiar places,
with unspoken duties of sadness.
The last one was different
which I couldn't attend
nursing my shocked and tender heart,
but families are full of expectation
and familiar strangers,
so this time it didn't cou...
Thursday 27th September 2018 10:15 pm
VANISHING POINT
Here stands Tim Quiney
porter at Defford
for over thirty years.
In the background, undisturbed
the station he knew so well,
in the Vale of Salty Tears.
Such men are copied
on heritage lines,
celebrating the way things used to be,
but on that day we see him
he went down with history
along with the Vale of Salty Tears.
He lost his job along with others
...Monday 24th September 2018 2:21 pm
NONDESCRIPT
"How're ye doin' honey?
I got here as soon as I could."
He's all strapped up,
tubes like spaghetti,
leg in a splint.
"I'm doin' jus' fine, i'm OK you know. "
Multiple fractures,
bed curtains fastracking,
stethoscopes wagging,
emergency vehicles
not long from the scene.
"How'd it happen, what's the news?"
"Well, h...
Saturday 22nd September 2018 12:24 pm
THE DISAPPEARED
When the men came a-knocking
the die was cast,
plans in tatters behind the door;
then mothers wrung their hands in grief
clinging to tragic hope and belief.
On their final visiting list
were sons of Derry
who had drank and talked
sealing their fate
without a trial.
When the man came a-knocking
to take them away
those dreamers of freedom
espousers ...
Wednesday 19th September 2018 10:24 pm
STATES OF MIND
Nirvana
Elysium
Arcadia,
unlike holiday destinations
don't exist in brochures
or online,
don't make false promises,
offer palm trees, white beaches
rolling surf,
beach bars
recliners,
bliss of a transient kind
that runs out back at the airport
with the phone turned off.
You may sense them on balmy breezes:
magic carpet rides,
in a look wher...
Monday 17th September 2018 9:32 pm
FEEDING THE DUCKS
Heat is sighing in the glade
so we look for welcome shade,
remembering a pond
that scratched itself on the backs of rushes
concealing more than it could show.
We lean together on a fence
watch some ducklings
paddling on lily pads
like uncertain swimmers
precarious and disjointed.
Adults stay in the shallows
bobbing like coracles.
A man comes with b...
Tuesday 11th September 2018 10:41 pm
TIME CAPSULE
In the graveyard, a low sad sun
helps to reveal names on headstones,
green from time's dedication,
scrolled like a will and testament
or in bold font according to taste.
"Departed this life"- the date obscured.
Bees choose life in the blossom;
while the old church, defending its faith
with custom, lurches into safe oblivion.
I see a fresh headstone
with it...
Sunday 9th September 2018 7:46 pm
TRANSMOGRIFY
While the film was running
somebody died.
It's always like that,
just as you thought there was a plot
as likely as not
there'll be an alternative ending
that nobody saw coming.
Except perhaps GOD
who fails to rewind
playing cinematic tricks with your mind.
Friday 7th September 2018 10:26 pm
PLAYING THE SAXOPHONE
The saxophone is only as good as you feel,
a masterpiece of confusion brought to heel,
constantly seeking company.
"Speak with me
speak with me it says,
I have so much to tell."
With plaintive insistence it reaches out,
then, tired from sound
lays down in velvet ruffs.
Enough is enough the ventriloquist says,
then the dummy cries itself to sleep,
in a dre...
Tuesday 4th September 2018 10:56 pm
SUCCESS STORY
"I need to improve my media presence,"
said the weasel to the shrew.
"Some selfies and a profile page,
an agent should know what to do.
No more slinking and stinking for me,
i'll lift my image
come out of the wild.
What think you?"
"Just wishful thinking, weasel words,"
replied the cunning and baleful shrew,
knowing full well the seed now sown
he took the ide...
Wednesday 29th August 2018 10:59 pm
MEMORIES IN THE MIST
"What's that, Daddy?" I had said,
pointing through the window in my memory.
"Railway engines on railway lines," he had said
in the early morning Vauxhall mist.
His cigarette smoke blended with
the stuffy morning sun,
another dying day begun;
railway lines,
crossing over an instant distance of time.
He read my thoughts,
why wouldn't he?
Today Waterlo...
Saturday 25th August 2018 11:10 pm
AT THE END, OR IS IT THE BEGINNING?
The biggest moment of his life
was when he took it -
so big it was that it rose up to meet him
with a large handshake,
a welcome to something he knew nothing about
nor wished to,
but nothing he could imagine
would be worth remaining behind for -
all the colours bled into one
like a balloon with nothing to celebrate,
a rubber joke inflated.
Perhaps he was the joke,
...Wednesday 22nd August 2018 8:31 pm
ONOMATOPOEIA
Onomatopoiea, i'd like to make it clear
is just the description of the sounds
that actions make when they strike our ear.
Here's one example: a crash or a smash,
everyday words; a bit of a shock
when something happens to make those sounds
that often enough will cause a fleeing
like the hissing sound of someone peeing.
Not so grating but disconcerting
nevertheless ...
Monday 20th August 2018 9:58 pm
INSPIRATION
Lifting the words from the page
turning them over, it was as I thought:
different meanings
different strokes for different folks,
hastily assembled in ragged ranks
all stary eyed
come to serve the masterminds
revealing well known and trusted themes,
turning over new exotic leaves
page by page, just so much foliage,
and us reborn all starry eyed
in mangers...
Tuesday 14th August 2018 8:06 pm
HOSPITAL VISIT
Wonder can take you that extra mile,
along with doubt of course.
They can get you a long way into
the places you don't understand but wish to.
How the friend you knew looks up
from a bolstered pillow,
eyes betraying his stunted body,
that's today's cold compression.
How to fathom your own voice
as it rebounds into your head
where there is no expression.
Saturday 11th August 2018 10:34 pm
NIGHT SUPER VISION
Why don't you leave us discarnate souls
alone in the dark of night to play
with the dreams we lived and are stuck with now?
We're happy in our misery,
happy to sleep throughout your day
at night to live in mystery.
That's when you come with all your tackle
to prove our existence as if we care
to be revealed in your screwed up world.
All you seek is to hav...
Friday 10th August 2018 10:44 pm
JUST BY THE FLYOVER
Just by the flyover
empty office blocks wait for life
decked with wild flowers
around their base, an afterthought
finding cracks,
a hopeful assertion.
Like giants aloof, swarming up
from the uncaring ground
they have no part to play
in this excitation of decay.
Thursday 9th August 2018 8:26 pm
RIGHTS OF PASSAGE
I fucked you in a mirror,
I fucked you on a dance floor,
in the kitchen
in the garden too;
it may seem all the same to you
but i'm proud of my backgrounds,
scenes of spice,
sometimes I forget just where
and really, does anyone care
if i'm Roger Moore or Mack the Knife?
It's just a fucking part of life.
Sunday 5th August 2018 2:27 pm
MANDY O MANDY
Mandy O Mandy
are you woman or man?
Fifty fifty I would say,
do you have a plan?
I'm all at sea
you're just like me
with a woman's mind
in a strange and masculine territory.
I can feel a song coming on,
strange fruit,
an unaccustomed harmony.
Friday 3rd August 2018 8:27 pm
CLOSING THE GAP OF YEARS
"I love you," I said
closing the gap of years -
"I love you too," she said.
We walked holding hands
celebrating her two replacement hips.
Hospitals split you up,
cleave you with fears;
such a routine part of life - and yet,
you think of the anaesthetic and the knife.
Today it all works out,
I squeeze her hand.
She talks of moisturizers,
I the airbrus...
Sunday 29th July 2018 9:43 pm
RECONCILIATION
It was as if the sky and the earth
had stopped talking to each other;
two warriors at odds,
arid and distant,
a stand off.
Yet, one night we sensed a reconciliation,
a broody bank of cloud
come with a message
for the bald brown grass
festering like a parchment of peace discarded.
I heard whisperings on leaves,
as of tiny footsteps,
weary emissaries ...
Thursday 26th July 2018 8:28 pm
LEARNING THE PIANO
I'm practising scales and simple pieces,
on another planet I play with ease
Rachmaninov's concerto number three.
It's funny how wonderful music can be
as I sense the movements of Mister Worthy
leaning over to turn a page,
the smell of experience on his clothes.
"Concentrate on one thing at a time"
is what call me Adrian said last week.
That's what i've be...
Tuesday 24th July 2018 10:28 pm
THE OLD FELLAS
In rare unguarded moments
you'd see the old motorbikes
side - propped at a kerb
languidly leaning:
Douglas Dragonfly
Velocette with fishtail silencer
Sunbeam, Ariel Square Four,
Vincent Black Shadow.
Everything deeply chromed
from pretty heads
to tippy toes,
Dunlop tyres, de rigeur,
and wait for the owner,
the original often as...
Wednesday 18th July 2018 9:58 pm
THE OLD FELLAS
In rare unguarded moments
you'd see the old motorbikes
side - propped at a kerb
languidly leaning:
Douglas Dragonfly
Velocette with fishtail silencer
Sunbeam, Ariel Square Four,
Vincent Black Shadow.
Everything deeply chromed
from pretty heads
to tippy toes,
Dunlop tyres, de rigeur,
and wait for the owner,
the original often as...
Wednesday 18th July 2018 9:56 pm
NAMEDROPPER
She knows the right people,
names names,
wears them with pride.
Wears jeans by Stella McCartney,
shoes from LK Bennett,
bags by Louis Vuitton.
Her diary is full -
free tickets to first nights
at Glyndebourne, The Palladium,
film premieres.
The ping of a message comes
bringing lavish detail, back story.
She loves everyone to death just in ca...
Tuesday 17th July 2018 8:24 pm
RICTUS GRINS AND STRAIGHT FACES
I noticed Jeremy Hunt at the front
adjusting his tie for the world watching,
where actors playing Churchill were filmed
bully beef rotting on the vine
the squatting of force prepared.
For once the dramatics were plain to see
a sense of occasion contained,
body clocks at ground zero
flies assembled around shit that smelled so fresh
designed to be impressed.
boys...
Friday 13th July 2018 4:12 pm
BYE BYE BLACKBIRD
Something about that eye
not seeing,
not knowing me there
is like a dream
of soaring free
the gripping of a branch
consensual sex on the wing.
Beside me now on the spade
while clawing at nothing,
it seems unconcerned
while the bright beads of bluebottles
steer her to the earth.
Tuesday 10th July 2018 11:13 pm
LONELY RACONTEUR
He'll tell you what you already know
or don't wish to know,
the choice is limitless
the vision narrow,
a window of opportunity for him.
He is pleased with his delivery,
your reactions are superfluous.
It may be the revelation of a recent operation,
the exciting follow up,
his memory for detail staggering
as he watched it onscreen
like kebabs under cool lights...
Saturday 7th July 2018 11:22 pm
AT THE A & R
At the A & R in Charing Cross Road
you'd have to mind your P's & Q's
Behave right - no T shirts, jeans or trainers
or it was goodnight
when you hit the long stairs
two floors down to the pavement.
You'd see Ronnie Knight
various heavies, luminaries of street trade,
drinks at bargain prices,
cash at all times.
A drummer mate of mine
low of brow, bit...
Tuesday 3rd July 2018 10:20 pm
STANDING UP FOR VERA
Some folks are fans of Taylor Swift
Kylie or Beyonce,
but I for one am not impressed,
their singing leaves me quite depressed.
That modern bunch I must admit
just seems a little poncy.
When it comes to songs and singing 'em
Vera Lynn is the girl for me,
i'm just now going on eighty three;
my memory serves me right you see.
My favourite album of hers I cheris...
Monday 2nd July 2018 9:50 pm
GAPS WHERE WORDS SHOULD BE
When he said there are no words
I knew he told the truth,
and love poured in to heal the wound
where words would try to help.
I know you can't describe a gap
in lives so badly rent,
but nothing's lost that's truly learned
and lessons taught when truly earned
to help by kind consent.
Saturday 30th June 2018 11:41 pm
ARCANA
WHEN....THE....BIG....HAND....IS....ON....TWELVE
THE....BIG....MOUSE....RUNS....DOWN....THE....PIPE
THE....SKY....SCREAMS...GOODNIGHT
NO....LOGIC....CAN....CURE....YOU....NOW
THE....MOUSE....WAS....YOUR....ONLY....FRIEND
THE....LITTLE....HAND....IS....NOT....FAR....BEHIND
THE....SWEEP....OF....CLAWED....FATE
Thursday 28th June 2018 11:00 pm
CONFLAGRATION
The people come like wolves
into hushed art galleries,
discreet and solemn libraries
to destroy history's mirrors of culture
finding them irrelevant to their cause.
A change is coming.
Deep into archives
dowsing with petrol
faces set firm into the fray
they light the day with dark intent.
Soon impartial enquirers will come
to report the news:
some m...
Wednesday 27th June 2018 11:08 pm
NO GOING BACK
The wheel of misfortune keeps on turning,
a hole in his pocket is rapidly burning.
Hope is raging like a bull,
the jaunty screen calling him back:
"Place your bets now, place your bets."
Somewhere in a far off dream
fortunes are waiting to be made,
a four pack helps it on its way,
his wife is missing, the bed unmade.
Still he awaits the grand parade.
Sunday 24th June 2018 9:14 pm
SALTY TALES
Pru,Pru, dearest Pru
since we went to Ironbridge
you've taken a shine to Ironbru.
Now you have a spring in your step
i'm beginning to feel like Johnny Depp
with heavy makeup and a yard of ale
sharing a stoveside bawdy tale.
I'm in with a chance again I reckon
while we potter along the Mon. and Brecon
Wednesday 20th June 2018 3:09 pm
STEPFATHERS DAY
Stepfather, stepfather you have no card,
today is just another day,
the reflected glory of sons seen through darkened glass
the reward for love by proxy;
toiling uphill to see the horizon closing in
when others may bask in yearly glory.
We don't expect a card
there ain't one printed for us, and that's official.
but spare a thought while we with outstretched hand
o...
Sunday 17th June 2018 5:40 pm
SUMMER SEASON
Skegness was bracing on the day of my return,
summer had been a misfortune of time and place
but needs must, a living to be made. The dancer
was waiting on the esplanade her nose running,
hunched against the cold hard rails where the sea
humped the shingle, scraping a purpose. We walked
to the Kardomah cafe, the door an echo in its frame -
silently drank tea, watched the...
Friday 15th June 2018 11:16 pm
BICYCLE
Balance is the thing
that keeps you in the saddle
that runs along the tube
to reach the handlebars
that keeps your body poised
that runs down to the wheels
which turn you round,
keeps you off the ground
that rushes by when
turning your legs
having future's road in view
to leave the past behind.
Balance is the thing.
Once the mechanism is explained
al...
Sunday 10th June 2018 10:24 pm
ALWAYS ON THE ROAD
I was always on the road,
on the road through different towns,
through endless routes from A to B
and B to C and back to A
tight lipped in automobilitic flight,
on lonely motorways,
struggling to stay awake,
the long hard lights hypnotising me,
and sometimes, often, there would be
a stretch of houses in intimate night
eyeless uncharacteristic blocks
whose slee...
Thursday 7th June 2018 11:22 pm
THREADBARE
You are my needle
I am your thread.
Wher'ere you go
I will be led.
Be wary when
you point the way,
not hearing what
I have to say,
for with your plans
so tightly sewn
you may just find
you've lost the thread
to end up all alone.
Wednesday 6th June 2018 10:55 pm
DOO LANG A LANG
Little white clouds
write out louds
(cockney rhyming slang).
It don't mean nothing
so it must mean something
a bit like doo lang a lang.
This doggerel is not designed to impress
and what it means
is anyone's guess.
Sunday 3rd June 2018 2:49 pm
INCONGRUOUS
At the tiny garden centre
a Ford Ranger pulled in,
window went down,
husband as controlled as a fist,
sullen, white T shirt
stayed in the car.
Wife, blowsy, voluptuous
exhuding brute sexuality
got out.
Two identikit boys followed:
slightly tubby, cropped hair,
white shirts and ties.
Probably come from church,
such is their custom on a Sunday.
"Wher...
Thursday 31st May 2018 9:24 pm
SUGAR RUSH
Sugar rush I love you so.
Eyes half closed
luscious longings half open
she holds a Magnum to her lips,
the trajectory planned in advance
sugar rush enhanced.
An ice cream lush
on the blinking screen,
sunburst cream
immersed in velvet
as rewarding as a placenta
a secret dream
known by psycho sexual boys
who know how to apply
market pre...
Monday 28th May 2018 10:24 pm
REMEMBERING THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT
Dear Quentin Crisp, I feel you should
have been re-planted as a tree,
preferably a willow, having learnt
the tricks of beauty in cross winds.
Your leaves could be as silk
pocket handkerchiefs tumbling;
thin branches your arms wafting
like the tired springs of automata.
Flowers should be left at your feet,
so dandy and neat,
a message of congratulation pinne...
Wednesday 16th May 2018 10:52 pm
ROYAL VISIT
A train terminating in Troon
brings Harry and Megan to town.
The Lord Lieutenant will carry the pennant,
there'll be swapping of keys and a spoon.
Harry will wear his kilt,
Megan dressed up to the hilt,
Mrs Fitzpatrick will open her cafe
tastefully rebuilt.
Penelope Keith will be there
with wonderful teeth and hair,
Megan Markle will be sure to sparkle,
...Monday 14th May 2018 10:20 pm
THE MEMORY THIEF
A thief comes in the night
scooping memory from reluctant skulls.
Next day, a little more gone.
He tucks the memories under his coat,
casts them to the four winds like ashes.
Another grey head laments, where is my mind?
Next he steals orientation;
more lamentation.
The thief is always busy throwing things away.
"No use to me, he says,
I cast fates t...
Thursday 10th May 2018 10:43 pm
SCHOOL DESKS
We inherited the Empire
Hearts of Oak
and school desks,
surrounded by proud maps
of our world possessed,
teachers living on in ancient jackets
or long skirts, rheumy eyes
haunted by the war,
while our inkpots were primed.
A scooped trough held pens
with push - on nibs
scratching some semblance of sense
to those who judged
fair or foul intent.
Ou...
Tuesday 8th May 2018 9:46 pm
CLINGING TO CONVENTION
The woman pushes her babies
five at a time in the well-used buggy,
bag lady to the untrained eye;
but the babies are dolls we see
all cock a hoop jammed in
jostling for air and space.
No one passes the time with her,
and she seems unaware,
too rigidly focussed to notice others'
consternation or disbelief.
Then there is our relief
of walking past, putting dist...
Friday 4th May 2018 10:09 pm
FILM NOIR
The flash of a blade on giddy steps,
the camera a sniffing dog
searching for clues in puddled dark.
Two shadows meet with desperation
then flee from prying eyes.
Passionella waits in the sombre light
of a dingy room,
looks down at the street
watching for watchers,
the gauloises glow.
A soft knock comes.
He is there with his crooked smile,
offer...
Tuesday 1st May 2018 10:34 pm
SKELETON STAFF
Skeleton staff, always pleased to help,
pleased that they've come back to life
given yet another chance.
Cheap to run, never complain
rise from the dead again and again,
no service issues, bang on time,
cheaper than robots, quite sublime
and full of humour, lots of fun,
collect in groups or one by one.
They know our thoughts and serve us well,
arrested...
Sunday 29th April 2018 10:18 pm
TWIN PEAKS
I love them in the summertime
and in the winter too,
I love them in the evening time
and in the morning dew.
To these I give my gratitude
as gifts from God on high,
more welcoming I often say
than a comely maiden's thigh.
When thoughts of darkness threaten me
I simply close my eyes,
and there before me standing proud
I see the lows and highs.
...
Thursday 26th April 2018 10:27 pm
RESTORATION
A chair is a chair is a chair
but the one upon which I now am sat
gives me the support I need
and its history is its own,
shaped by restless hands and minds
who know their sockets
their integral parts and how they fit
before the body becomes part of it.
I know their hearts and souls,
have trodden where no average man
has sat before, that is to say
I will not ...
Tuesday 24th April 2018 10:12 pm
IN THE GARDEN - AGAIN
Sometimes it's just nice to be predictable,
let the surprising light into your shed
grab those inherited and dusty implements,
try to take nature by surprise,
ending up taking yourself seriously.
It's always hard these days, penetration
of virgin soil, as old as the hills.
Thank God for the thrust of intent
at least, how the tines go in,
the back today holds up, su...
Saturday 21st April 2018 9:59 pm
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ROGER MOORE
The ladies love their men to be strong but gentle,
romantic and sentimental,
not forgetting those yearly events
with chocolates and flowers,
room at the inn.
The minute they stray to vintage cars,
tudor bars, the clotting of men's company
the hunting for trophies,
that's when the ladies uncoil the viper's tail,
being deadler to the male.
Monday 16th April 2018 11:12 pm
VIP TREATMENT
In spite of delayed surgery appointments,
under funding of the NHS
admissions kept waiting on trolleys
overcrowded A & E departments
sub standard hospital food
overworked doctors
underpaid nurses
last minute cancelling of operations
administrative cock ups
risk of MRSA
the banning of flowers to cheer patients...
Sunday 15th April 2018 9:58 pm
PENSIONER POET
The Pensioner Poet looks cool today,
he studies the dust on his capuccino
admires the casual impression it makes,
checks the aerosol in his bag.
Takes a sip from the frothy brew,
he knows his moves, what he must do.
His poetry submissions have fallen flat
nothing but rejection slips;
sipping more of the frothy brew
a pristine verse is rising up
as he drains the ...
Friday 13th April 2018 9:57 pm
THE WRISTBAND
This ward was for those who waited to die,
among them my mother,
Kate Pool nee Hayward.
On her wristband a date:
28 9 08,
details that separated her
from those i'd never known,
those I would never know,
her uniqueness confirmed.
Amongst those unknowns she lay,
her wonderful miraculous life
part of a circle of depleted energy hard used
giving service and ...
Saturday 7th April 2018 10:38 pm
ROSE KWARTZ
Hi everyone out there, Rose Kwartz here.
My advice today is: SIT TIGHT.
Legs together - nothing can enter your mind.
Be at peace, open your chakras,
think crystal.
Think crystal and all will be well.
Only today, I bought meat from Walmart,
took it home.
I though - wow! do chickens have chakras?
There is more to the universe
than we can ever probably ever know.
...Friday 6th April 2018 11:06 pm
LATE DEPARTURE
His wife checks her watch - 11.05,
brings mid-morning coffee.
He will be controlling the through freight
from Shrewsbury on the miniature layout,
tiny electrical impulses bringing
the barn conversion to life.
Slumped heavily over a viaduct
he blocks the line to the tiny English
branchline station,
a train lopsided off the rails,
sheep and cows on their backs,
...
Monday 2nd April 2018 9:04 pm
EASTER: A NEW START
God knows that all men are born equal,
so that must be so, mustn't it?
God obviously could never be wrong.
In singing that particular song
from the same old hymn sheet
we are fine examples of that simple half truth
for why have equal opportunities
to give some a leg up,
bind us to a common goal to be more equal,
if we already are so.
God knows what HE...
Friday 30th March 2018 9:37 pm
LONERS
Two loners in search of an identity
some solace gained
in company unique.
The long search is never over,
landscapes shift
lives drift.
As a fox senses the wind,
so there is a purpose.
Wednesday 28th March 2018 2:16 pm
WE WILL A-DOGGING GO
If you go down to the woods today
you're in for a big surprise.
You may just see the odd invasion
involving tits and thighs,
bums and cocks, cocks and bums,
the sucking of thumbs,
fannies and aunts,
retard and advance,
sweat and shadow
in a lurid display,
reaming and creaming
muffled screaming,
trousers down,
skirts pulled up
bums and cocks, cocks and bums
...Monday 26th March 2018 10:01 pm
JEMIMA
My dolly's called Jemima,
she believes in fairy tales.
She comforts me on scary nights
after Mummy's put out the lights.
when I see things on the bedroom door,
hear sounds through cracks beneath the floor.
Jemima tells me it's quite alright,
these are things that happen in the night.
My Mummy seems quite scared as well
at things that upset her in the world;
she ...
Friday 23rd March 2018 9:40 pm
SEEING THINGS FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Everyone waits their turn to be checked.
Newly arrived: Ken Dodd and Stephen Hawking
now they're talking.
No obvious impediments on the mental level.
Ken has observed Stephen's prediction
that the universe will come to grief,
to be snuffed out like a magician's trick.
Not to be blinded by science he remarks:
"Never mind, this present place seems very nice,
and...
Wednesday 21st March 2018 10:17 pm
NOT NICE TO SEE YOU
Deep in the bowels of the BBC
dark doings are at work.
The Magic Circle have taken a room
painted a pentangle on the floor
like Hitler's bunker with plans afoot
some hieroglyphics marked on a chart
a ceremony is about to start.
"Brucie, Bruce we know you're there!
(with or without your cranial hair.)
We miss your stagey cheery presence
your a...
Sunday 18th March 2018 9:42 pm
DON'T TAKE OUR DOG AWAY
Dear God, don't take our dog away.
I know she's twelve now,
full of lumps,
bumps into things;
soils the carpet,
her legs give way like a pantomime horse.
but please,
don't take our dog away.
We know her breath is awful.
We got her for our kids
but they've grown up and gone away,
but they do still visit from time to time;
and we've grown so very fond of h...
Friday 16th March 2018 10:43 pm
PSYCHO DRAMA
How often have you found yourself
in the shower,
when some demented cross dresser
pulls back the curtain
disturbing your privacy,
and without a by your leave
starts attacking you with a knife?
I grant you it would be a rare event,
the odds stacked against it no doubt;
but how even more unusual it would be
to see through the steam some fat bloke
in a suit and ...
Wednesday 14th March 2018 4:38 pm
RITUAL
Just visible over gravel
through laurel is the road,
the squashy sound of tyres.
In front of the dressing table
he sits in underpants, socks, shirt
billowing open ready for gold links
and the fastening of a fly front.
The mirror confirms what he
has always known, that he would
reach a benchmark of unassailable
acceptance in lodges and clubs,
on com...
Friday 9th March 2018 10:53 pm
SUNDAY FAMILY MEAL IN THE PUB
Eighteen of us all herded together
jammed between the bar and overhead beams
parents sons daughters friends of in clusters
ordering drinks. Pushchairs breached, specially
chosen ladies' shoes below the sightline.
Being pressed so close too hot too confined
like life below decks below the waterline;
an hour yet to wait for a table too many coats
to be hung on chairs.
...
Tuesday 6th March 2018 10:13 pm
THE APPLE MAN
The old man from his cottage
sold apples
sold apples
red as the juice of roses
red as the juice of roses
and as fast as he could sell them
he grew them
he grew them.
Some fell and lay like refugees
like refugees crowding the borders
while wasps and maggots
made their claims.
As brown as old sponge
they lay exhausted by time
exhausted by time.
...Sunday 4th March 2018 2:07 pm
LISTEN UP, SON
Listen up son:
i've known cash, folding
the sluttiness of it,
how persuasive it can be.
Dirty, used notes
no truck with morality.
Once or twice cash has come easy
in plenty,
lifted me up, then brought me down.
Those days are over,
lost with Securicor vans,
balaclava raids, sawn - offs.
Lost to an artificial world
of numbers crunched on scre...
Monday 26th February 2018 3:36 pm
THE HOG'S BACK, A REVELATION
When the earth's crust folded
under pressure to herald a cretaceous dawn
like a stretching monster, to some slow
theatrical gesture of defiance,
the Hog's Back in Surrey was born.
(as yet unnamed.)
Over millennia, stern weather wore her down
to a mere shadow; nevertheless
a commanding view to those who were to come.
Horizons emerged,
forests of tall trees c...
Saturday 24th February 2018 10:09 pm
RHAPSODY FOR A DEAD REPTILE
rapscallion your cold heart let you down
it knew you too well with your veins of ferns
you shimmered in the wide heat your plans
were laid as eggs
your playground the dregs of
a subcontinent
the sun your mentor
who showed you mercy
even with your silly grin
but none to your scrabbling prey
not even aware
they'd been taken in.
Thursday 22nd February 2018 10:46 pm
FIRST JOBS IN THE GARDEN
The first lesson today is pruning the roses,
my wife the headmistress misses nothing.
The little children have been quiet in their beds
all winter long - now they need haircuts, sprucing.
Some big bully shrubs were expelled last year,
others warned with severe cutbacks.
Daffodils in clumps put up their hands
in buckets, bowls, pots-
"look at us, we're here to please!"
...Sunday 18th February 2018 4:43 pm
DISTANT VIEWS
There is a green hill far away without a city wall.
On its slopes there soon will rise
dwellings of impressive size;
with each and every valued plot
a sense of peace as like as not.
There'll also be a club and spa,
gymnasium and a foodie bar.
There was a green hill far away without a city wall
where nature has been crucified
to house us one and all.
Friday 16th February 2018 10:53 pm
TEETH
Aside from politics and religion
there is one topic that's shy of discussion
and that is TEETH,
the grand parade of them
or the sorry state of them.
Decisions on their fate, of
refurbishment or a dental plate,
are often made in the safer skull
where the brain begins to calculate
costs that seem to escalate.
A full set of gnashers
brings out the flashers
...Wednesday 14th February 2018 10:37 pm
CRIMINAL WAYS
From Fagin's garret to basement clubs,
from cut throat razors to cuban cigars,
from Whitechapel alleys to Belgravia flats,
people got bought, people got sold,
services rendered, favours returned.
Slanders concocted - lessons learned.
Crime has always, always paid.
Now online sticky fingers
in respectable houses in nowhere towns
tap away their morse code dreams
...Tuesday 13th February 2018 9:48 pm
MUNICIPAL PRIDE
On this bench dedicated to E.F.Hawksworth
by his wife Lucinda 1983
these youths have no respect.
The girl is on her haunches -
the boy like a raven shrouds her,
both shrunken by drugs.
The bench of bleached oak stands as testament -
to what who knows,
who now cares?
A small patch of cleared earth
awaits the gesture of spring bulbs,
pigeons gather
...
Sunday 11th February 2018 10:40 pm
THE MEASURE OF A POET
Every inch a poet
from his tippy toes
to his restless fingers
whence the poetry flows.
Every inch a word
running into lines
waiting on the edge of breath
ready to be heard.
Will you read for me
the measure of your life,
those inches spinning into miles
that set your spirit free?
Saturday 10th February 2018 9:42 pm
BRIE de MERSEY
Hi folks, Paul Hollywood here;
I love life and what it's done for me.
I've just made a discovery.
I used to only eat cheddar
until I chanced on Brie de Mersey,
French by name English by nature.
Bloody crackin' it is -
if ever there was a taste of the north
this has got it in buckets.
It's in Tescos as we speak,
I love it to bloody death.
It's safe on the g...
Friday 9th February 2018 4:15 pm
INERTIA
Inertia can bring comfort;
reason flies at it in a rage, but
soon calms down to accept its rules.
It's in good company
with many admirers:
lethargy, apathy, acceptance.
Indifference, whose bleak prospect heralds it,
unveils its faded grandeur
in a slow ceremony
with a grey cortege,
bowing low with a welcome.
Fighting with it brings little solace
...
Tuesday 6th February 2018 9:31 pm
RESTLESS SOULS
It's always been claimed that places can be haunted,
uneasiness felt around ancient doors.
Fleeing the skies to settle scores:
undefined figures, strange lights, sounds,
impressions in restless beds
up to those well-rehearsed tricks.
But I met an old man at the dead of day.
He said: perhaps it's us that are haunted,
carrying our burdens to sympathetic rooms,
baring ...
Friday 2nd February 2018 10:42 pm
CONSIDERATA
Life is a mixed open prison
with one way in and one way out.
Some have bigger more comfortable cells,
but all suffer confinement
with variations of refinement.
So make the best of it -
bring your trinkets to the ball;
celebrate differences;
try to make your stay comfortable,
be friends with the gaoler
if it helps.
If you run screaming round the grounds
there ...
Tuesday 30th January 2018 11:09 pm
DISASTER CAST
I see her now displayed behind glass
preserved in memory's cabinet,
her hips, lips, cast of jaw
cupped in every familiar place,
twenty years and more passed by.
Flying so close, we tried to cast
a future that never could be;
no rock to build that future on-
only illusions hewn to a shape
of hips, lips, cast of jaw
preserved as memory's favoured face.
Friday 26th January 2018 10:12 pm
RESENTMENT
Resentment is a lift that only goes down
on its way to level hate,
never reaching the bottom,
dragging you to your fate.
Gravity helps it on its way
so its hard to change your mind,
its walls are full of mirrors
to watch your spirit unwind.
No-one waits on other floors
to share your downward trend,
the mirrors are designed for you,
reflections that never...
Tuesday 23rd January 2018 8:19 pm
DIRTY WASHING ONLINE
I've got quite a collection of regular likers,
my pockets are full of bad dreams,
some of them mucky from dust therein,
but all highly flavoured if you know what I mean?
Bodily fluids, orifices,
always good for the mind to dwell on;
best out in the open is what I say;
if you write with hatred that's A OK.
Never mind the shit that keeps flowing,
it's just anot...
Thursday 18th January 2018 10:13 pm
AMNESTY
The knife is full of dreams
that turn into nightmares
which once applied can never be denied.
The romance of fine steel
is not for the faint-hearted,
never can be shared with the now departed.
Wednesday 17th January 2018 2:18 pm
NIGHT VIGIL
The cottage is tucked up in bed,
curtains like eyelids are closed;
there's a glow of a fire
where its heart is beating,
a carpet rolled out for welcome.
No-one knocks at this ungodly hour,
outside, the lane is a river of dark.
We sit in silence's mutual regard,
as right as keys in a lock,
complete, as companions should be.
The cottage is tucked up in bed,
...Saturday 13th January 2018 9:32 pm
WEAPONRY
Phallic symbols cast for death,
made for penetration
of brick, metal, bone, flesh,
mind, spirit, hope, dreams
while men decide
on whose hot belly
they take their ride.
Wednesday 10th January 2018 8:50 pm
MUMMY AND DADDY
Mummy and Daddy are Methodists
they have to have everything right;
they taught me that life is sacred,
to never give up the good fight.
Biology taught me the details
of life with its marvellous ways,
seeing how things are constructed
and to see how they're taken apart;
the blood and the organs, muscles and nerves,
how living creatures feed and breed;
emotio...
Thursday 4th January 2018 10:07 pm
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